Daily vs. weekly

[Amanda Lewanski]

No: HPFGUIDX 12976

naama_gat at hotmail.com wrote:

> I know I'm being dense and that this subject has been done to death,
> but please bear with me. When I was at school (in Israel) our schedule
> was weekly. We studied maths. for instance once or twice a week (each
> lesson was one or two hours).  From the discussion here I gather that
> the schedule at Hogwarts is considered to be daily (that is, a daily
> lesson for each subject), right? Else I don't see the problem with one
> teacher teaching 20 lessons a week (4
> lessons a day? not very strenuos, I would think). I'm very bad at
> following these things in the books so I'll ask here - is there
> evidence that lessons are daily? I seem to recall things like
> astronomy lesson on Wednesday night and so on.

An excellent point. I don't remember seeing it--although I must admit I
haven't followed *all* the minutiae of the number-of-students stuff,
which covered this a bit. And I've been trying to put my finger on this
very thing.

Most Americans don't do boarding schools. The concept of homework over
the summer is unbelievable heresy and a form of abuse. We do not go back
to the same teachers the next year (and consequently waste the first
part of the year establishing what the class does and doesn't know,
zzzzzzz). And we have a daily schedule, usually (where you attend each
course every day), unless it's one of the high schools that is
attempting to get the students used to the weekly schedules of college.

Then, when we go to college, we are hit with the unfamiliar terminology
of MWF or TTh classes, where you have the course on certain days. And
for longer than 30 minutes. Oooo. It's all part of the stress of
suddenly being dumped in a college environment and having to be an adult
All By Yourself, when up to a few weeks ago you could still sit at home,
raid the magical self-stocking fridge, and fuss at your mom for not
ironing your socks.

My point here is that Naama's right. I think Hogwarts classes are on a
weekly schedule, like American colleges and, apparently, British
boarding schools. The Hogwarts students *don't* go to every course every
day. That would lessen the load on the teachers, yes?

And you Brits, did any of you *really* have homework over the summer
holidays?

--Amanda, who was NOT kidding about boiled sweets, I really couldn't
figure it out; similar usages in the US--"boiled X"--involve X being put
into boiling water, and I just couldn't make it work with sugar without
simply getting syrup. Heather, take Neil *real* lemon drops, too!


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